IOC EB Makes Recommendations to International Sports Federations as a Result of Russian Invasion of Ukraine

BY LUKE REYNOLDS
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

The International Olympic Committee’s executive board made an announcement today recommending that International Sports Federations and sports event organizers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions.

“The current war in Ukraine, however, puts the Olympic Movement in a dilemma. While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country,” the announcement reads. “This is a dilemma which cannot be solved. The IOC EB has therefore today carefully considered the situation and, with a heavy heart, issued the following resolution.”

The resolution includes the recommendation to bar Russian and Belarusian participants as well as withdrawing the “Olympic Order from all persons who currently have an important function in the government of the Russian Federation or other government-related high-ranking position.”

That list includes Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Chernyshenko, and Dmitry Kozak.

World Rowing published a statement on the situation on February 26 expressing its “deepest sadness at the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine, and its concern for the people affected, first and foremost in Ukraine, and also in Russia and Belarus where people will inevitably and involuntarily be affected as well.”

The statement does not address whether or not World Rowing would bar athletes from competition or whether the federation would move or cancel events currently scheduled to take place in the two countries.

The next two international events on the World Rowing events list are the 2022 Croatia Indoor Regatta followed by the 2022 World Rowing Virtual Indoor Sprints. (Not to be confused with the 2022 World Rowing Indoor Championships presented by Concept2 which took place February 25-26.)

The bulletin recommending that Russian and Belarusian athletes be barred from competition follows an announcement Friday urging all international sports federations to relocate or cancel sports events currently planned to take place in Belarus or Russia.

The moves are a result of Russia’s breach of United Nations Resolution A/RES/76/13 as well as Belarus’ involvement in the Ukrainian invasion. The resolution is most commonly referred to as the Olympic Truce which began seven days before the start of the Winter Olympic Games on February 4 and ends seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games.

The Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing are set to begin on March 4 and end on March 13.

According to the World Rowing events list, there are two regattas set to take place in the two nations.

The 2023 European Rowing Under-23 Championships are scheduled to take place August 26-27, 2023 in Russia, and the 2024 European Rowing Under-19 Championships are currently scheduled to take place May 18-19, 2024 in Minsk, Belarus.

Rowing News has reached out to World Rowing for comment.

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